‘The water was chest-high’
Mikail recalls his terror on the day when devastating floods swept through his community.
‘People tried to barricade their doors with sandbags but the floodwaters surged with such force that it was impossible to stop them from entering their homes. We fled to the bush, our clothes soaked. Within ten minutes, the water reached our chests. Even in the bush, we were terrified as the water continued to rise. We felt unsafe in the darkness and feared snake bites.’
‘Within ten minutes, the water reached our chests. Even in the bush, we were terrified as the water continued to rise. We felt unsafe in the darkness and feared snake bites.’
old has limited mobility in his left hand and left leg following a stroke. Despite his disability, he makes his living running a food stall at the front of his home and farming a half-acre plot. In September 2024, torrential rains caused a local dam to collapse and water flooded his home.
cholera, fever and malaria so we returned home,’ Mikail explained.
local currency to pay for food, medicine and home repairs.
Mikail Malik Abdulhamid
Mikail lives with his wife and six children in northeast Nigeria. The 51-year-
Mikail and his family made their way to a makeshift shelter for people forced from their homes. But their troubles weren’t over. Mikail’s children had caught a fever as a result of their time in the bush. While in the shelter, they faced water shortages and overcrowding. There was also the spread of disease.
‘There were outbreaks of
There, they were met with devastation. ‘The flood destroyed our belongings; some items were washed away and others were damaged. I had three sheep and lost one in the flood. I’m not sure if the other two were stolen or swept away. The flood also damaged our beans and groundnut crop,’ Mikail said.
‘The situation worsened after the flooding. Prices of goods soared. Since the flooding, my family and I have been struggling with hunger,’ he added.
Thanks to funding from Irish Aid, Mikail’s family were among almost 550 flood-affected families to receive cash support from Christian Aid’s partner Concern for Women and Child Development Initiative (COWACDI). Each family received around €88/£66 in the
‘I bought food and a bag of cement and sand. I hired a labourer and carpenter to begin renovating the damaged areas of our home. We also bought zinc roofing with the money,’ Mikail said.
‘I am grateful for the support from Christian Aid, Irish Aid and COWACDI. Without this support, our situation would have deteriorated significantly. I truly believe we would have died. May God bless you.’
The cash support given to Mikail and the other families came from Irish Aid, the Government of Ireland’s overseas development programme, funded by the Irish taxpayer.
In Nigeria, Mikail hears the good news that he is to receive cash support after his home was flooded.
Home Grown Hope
In a crowded suburb of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, where many families live in poverty and land is in short supply, your kindness allows mothers to feed their children a healthy, balanced diet, helping them grow up strong.
Thanks to your support, Christian Aid’s partner Beacon of Hope is teaching women new techniques to enable them to grow vegetables to feed their families and surplus to sell for an income.
Last November, County Down chef Mollie Cunningham and two Christian Aid Ireland staff members visited these urban farming projects. Now chef Mollie, who grows all her own vegetables on her farm near Killyleagh, is holding a series of live cookery demonstrations where she will recreate the traditional dishes she learnt to cook in Kenya.
Come along to sample Mollie’s cooking and hear about the work of Christian
Aid Ireland – the work made possible by your donations. It will be an evening of nourishment for your tummy and
encouragement for your faith!
For more information and to book a place on a cookery demonstration, please visit caid.ie/HomeGrownHope
You supported the war-torn
A nutritious meal. A hot shower. A place to wash your clothes. These are the basic comforts offered to people made homeless by Israel’s recent bombardment of Lebanon. The relief is offered at a drop-in centre in east Beirut, run by Christian Aid’s partner Mouvement Social and funded by donations made by people like you to
Prayer
We pray for peace in the many countries facing violence and unrest.
We pray for protection for all those affected by these conflicts.
We pray for wisdom for our world leaders, that they may have the courage to stand up for those most vulnerable.
We pray that they make decisions based on love, peace and compassion.
We pray for those who are working to create a world in your image, one of peace and equality, of justice and love.
May they be filled with your passion Lord, your drive to create an equal world.
Father God, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
the UK Disasters Emergency Committee. For 66 days, an intense bombing campaign by Israel wreaked havoc across the country, killing more than 4,000 people and forcing 1.3 million, a quarter of the population, from their homes. Public generosity provided a vital lifeline at a time of crisis.
Another of Christian Aid’s partners played a life-saving role during the war. Thanks to your generous donations to Christian Aid’s Middle East Appeal, the Lebanese Red Cross provided over 1,000 pieces of medical equipment, including folding walking aids, hospital beds and mattresses to three health centres and seven mobile medical units. Your donations played a crucial role in bringing life-saving aid to those injured in Lebanon.
At
Christian Aid/Suzanne Simpson
a drop-in centre in Beirut, a volunteer prepares a hot meal for people forced to flee their homes by Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon.
Mollie Cunningham (2nd left) of Ballytrim Pantry near Killyleagh in County Down with Christian Aid staff on a visit to Kenya.
Hunger hotspot
‘I worry about what my children will eat.’
These are the heartbreaking words of Amelia, a mother-of-two living in the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala. Here, on the frontline of the climate crisis, poor rainfall and devastating heatwaves are killing her banana and cacao plants.
In this region, 90% of people live in poverty, and malnutrition in children under five is the highest in the country. Farming families are exceptionally vulnerable to hunger when their crops fail.
Amelia and her husband built their home on land she inherited. At the bottom of the plot, there is a river where their children play to escape the blistering temperatures the relentless heatwaves bring. The community catches fish, and families bathe and wash their clothes.
But the river level is falling due to drought and heatwaves. Where once it was waist-high, now it’s ankle-deep.
Every Wednesday, Amelia goes to the market to sell her produce. But the market is shrinking because farmers have little to sell.
As the climate crisis causes vital crops to fail, farming families are plunged into hunger and poverty. With fruit and other produce in short supply, people get by on rice and tortillas. For these Indigenous communities, their livelihoods, traditions and very survival are on the line.
that’s dying from drought.
Guatemala is a hunger hotspot. Nearly half of all children experience stunting of their growth and in some areas, this rises to 90%. Stunting permanently affects both physical and mental development.
But there is hope. Thanks to your donations, since 2011, Christian Aid has been working in Guatemala with its partner, Congcoop. In 2020, when hurricanes Eta and Iota forced almost 200,000 people out of their homes and into shelters, Congcoop offered vital humanitarian aid. Today, Congcoop offers training and tools so farmers can grow more resilient crops, build water recycling systems and create organic fertiliser.
Amelia is hopeful of better times ahead: ‘My first priority is to feed my family. I want my children to go to school to finish their education and live a better life.’
This Christian Aid Week (11-17 May), your support could fund vital tools and training so farmers like Amelia can push back against injustice.
There are so many ways to make a difference – such as coffee mornings, bake sales and soup lunches, as well as running, hiking and biking events for the ‘70k in May’ challenge.
For more information, please visit caweek.ie
Christian Aid/Amy Sheppey
In Guatemala, Amelia and her daughter stand next to a banana tree
Join our 80th anniversary service
Here is the story of Christian Aid, a story made possible by your support:
1945:
Christian Aid’s work began, in response to the refugee crisis in Europe.
1950s:
We launched Christian Aid Week to raise extra funds. We continued helping refugees in mainland Europe as well as those from Palestine, Korea and China. We set up and ran Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) to enable young people to make a difference and offered help to churches in moving from colonialism to independence.
1960s:
We made a difference in crises affecting Biafra, Kenya and India. We helped set up the World Development Movement to encourage political campaigning. We addressed racism and poverty in the United States and advised Martin Luther King while he was in the UK.
Please join us for a special service of thanksgiving as we celebrate our 80th anniversary and the global impact that’s been made possible by the generous and prayerful support of thousands of churches and individuals like you.
Christian Aid was founded by the churches in Britain and Ireland in 1945, in the aftermath of the Second World War, to respond to the refugee crisis in Europe. Eighty years on, we’ve chosen World Refugee Day to mark our milestone anniversary.
Please come along for a special service of thanksgiving at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, beginning at 7pm on Friday 20 June, when we will give thanks for all that we‘ve achieved together, as well as focusing on the challenges ahead and recommitting ourselves to striving for a world free from the scandal of poverty. The service will close with tea and coffee and the opportunity to chat. To book your place, please visit caid.ie/80th
1970s:
We educated supporters at home about the root causes of poverty and worked with organisations internationally to eradicate it. We popularised world development issues by providing seed money to establish the New Internationalist magazine.
1980s:
We fed hungry people during the Ethiopian famine and those experiencing drought in Mozambique. We created the Southern African Coalition to demand an end to apartheid.
1990s:
We campaigned on developing world debt, fair trade and the policies of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. We challenged the discrimination faced by people living with HIV in Africa. We stood up for and provided food for refugees in Kosovo.
2000s:
We campaigned to Make Poverty History. We brought aid to more than 500,000 people after the Asian tsunami. We highlighted the fact that developing countries lose more money through corporate tax evasion than they receive through aid. We joined the ACT Alliance, an umbrella group of faith-based aid agencies.
2010s:
2025:
We helped people fleeing war. In Northern Ireland, we chaired the IF campaign, highlighting the root causes of poverty. We campaigned for climate action and tax justice. We will continue to work for a world where everyone can live in dignity, free from poverty, injustice, inequality and violence.
Standing against harassment
In Bangladesh, where many female workers in the garment industry face harassment, both at work and on their commute, your donations are helping women to assert their rights and create safer workplaces.
Some garment workers also experience domestic violence at the hands of husbands jealous of their income.
But thanks to your generosity and European Commission funding, women workers are standing against the harassment.
Christian Aid Bangladesh is part of a coalition made up of several local womenled and legal organisations
that has trained hundreds of volunteers in 30 factories, who together will reach around 60,000 garment workers. These are factories that produce clothing for major brands in Britain and Ireland, including Marks and Spencer, Monsoon and TK Maxx. The volunteers are raising awareness of human rights and labour laws, especially as they relate to women garment workers.
These ‘shojag shatis’ (which translates as ‘awake partners’ or ‘awareness squad’) are helping to make the garment sector safer and more women-friendly, for example by pushing for factories to provide creches. One of Christian Aid’s local partners is also providing emotional support to survivors of harassment and sexual violence.
Christian Aid’s partner BLAST set up a digital app where garment workers can report issues and contact helplines.
Christian Aid’s partner BLAST is running free legal advice clinics to help garment workers claim unpaid overtime and provide support with other workplace
grievances. BLAST also set up a digital app where garment workers can report issues and make contact with helplines. Belfast 96 Beechill Road, Belfast, BT8 7QN 028 9064 8133 | belfast@christian-aid.org Dublin 19-21 Denzille Lane, Dublin 2, D02 WT72 01 496 7040 | dublin@christian-aid.org
There are more than 4,000 garment factories in Bangladesh which together employ around 4 million people. Around 60% of the workers are women, with many coming from rural villages to find work and send money home to their families.
Cork Hill View, Bandon, County Cork cork@christian-aid.org
Christian Aid/Paul Donohoe
Laila (27) is among hundreds of volunteers making the Bangladesh garment industry safer for women.